REPORT FOR DUTY

Soldiers report to their commander for orders each morning (II Tim. 2:4). Elisabeth Elliott says, "Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders. It is no mere business of self-improvement, to be listed along with speed-reading, weight-watching, [or] jogging... Such programs have a strong appeal that is largely self-serving: what's in it for me?... in the end a do-it-yourself program depends on willpower alone, which is not enough for most of us." Approach the Lord each day for your daily list, as well as your daily bread, so at night you can say, "I have finished the work you gave me to do."

You may find that morning is your best planning time. Or perhaps your best time to sit down with the Lord and plan the coming day is in the evening after you've tucked the last child into bed. Sunday afternoon while you are still fresh from your time of worship can also be a great time to lay out the week's work.

We don't know what the expiration date is on our lives. God has the right to graduate us to heaven at any time. But we must realize that there will be time to do all He leads us to do. He doesn't give us incompatible obligations. Let's be found faithful in fulfilling what He has called us to do during this season of our lives. We do this by asking the Lord to reveal the Big Rocks He has placed in our jars, and by focusing our efforts on them and the actions that support these responsibilities.

And at night when we crawl into bed, we can know that even though there is much left to be done--"A woman's work is never done!"--we have done the things He called us to do that day. Then we can reap the reward of hearing His words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

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Copyright 2007 by Marcia K. Washburn, homeschooling mother of five sons. Adapted from an article published in The CHEC Update Fourth Quarter 2006; reprinted by permission. For information about workshops, articles, or books, please contact her at marcia@chec.org or 970-842-4776.

This article was originally published in the July/Aug '07 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more details, visit http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com